Carolina Journal Weekly Report

January 23, 2009

RALEIGH — North Carolina should repeal its system of taxpayer-financed elections, since a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes it clear the system is unconstitutional. That’s the conclusion a John Locke Foundation analyst reaches in a new Spotlight report.

Rather than set up another taxpayer-financing scheme, lawmakers should scrap their current systems, Bakst said. “Legislators should not sit idly by and let North Carolinians’ First Amendment rights be trampled until a court ‘officially’ declares this taxpayer financing system to be unconstitutional,” he said. “Taxpayer-financed elections should be repealed immediately. At a minimum, there should be a moratorium on taxpayer financing systems until a final legal decision is made on a key element of taxpayer financing called ‘matching funds.’”

Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Davis v. Federal Election Commission struck down a federal law that punished congressional candidates for spending too much of their own money on their campaigns, Bakst said.

“Once personal spending on a campaign exceeded a threshold level, the federal McCain-Feingold law gave opposing candidates fundraising advantages,” Bakst said. “This penalty on ‘self-financed candidates’ was called the Millionaire’s Amendment.”

“As the Supreme Court has made clear in its campaign finance cases, restrictions on spending money are equivalent to restricting a candidate's speech because money is necessary for political communication,” he added.

News Features

CJ: Legislators ponder taxing computer downloadsRALEIGH — Some N.C. legislators want to take a
closer look at taxing songs, movies, books, and games downloaded on
computers. A study committee could discuss the issue Wednesday. “I just think in terms of our retail merchants and folks with bricks
and mortar [stores], they’re being burdened in a way that other
retailers are not because of the way the world has changed,” said Rep.
Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, during the Jan. 7 meeting of the General
Assembly’s Revenue Laws Study Committee.

CJ: Pro-lifers mark anniversary of abortion rulingRALEIGH — Pro-life activists gathered in downtown Raleigh recently to
mark the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that found a
constitutional right to abortion. The rally was conducted three days
before President Obama, a supporter of abortion access, was inaugurated
in Washington, D.C.

CJ: Court rebuffs town on building permitRALEIGH — A Chapel Hill company won the opportunity to build a house on
a lot the firm owns, thanks to a recent N.C. Supreme Court ruling. In
its ruling in December, the high court found that Chapel Hill had
violated its own rules in not issuing a building permit for the lot
that is largely situated in the town’s Resource Conservation District.

Panel: Annexation shouldn't be forced on residentsRALEIGH — Cities and towns shouldn’t be allowed to annex unincorporated areas unless targeted residents first are allowed to vote on the matter, a legislative study committee agreed Thursday despite opposition from a powerful lobbying group and state senator. The special panel examining changes to North Carolina’s municipal annexation laws voted in favor of requiring referenda as a prerequisite for involuntary annexations.

Basnight offers up a hike in ‘sin tax’RALEIGH — N.C. Senate leader Marc Basnight on Thursday proposed raising
taxes on alcohol and cigarettes to help prop up crumbling state revenue
numbers. It was the first public mention of possible tax increases this
year by the state’s political leaders. Gov. Beverly Perdue, in her
first month on the job, has talked primarily about finding ways to cut
spending as the economic downturn erodes state revenues.

“A lot of buyers have turned into somewhat of a vulture.”— Jake Kent, president of K2C Real Estate Solutions in Charlotte, describing the state of the local housing market to the Charlotte Observer. K2C hasn’t been able to sell some houses despite 15 percent price cuts. Building permits for single-family homes in Mecklenburg County, meanwhile, are off 70 percent versus a year ago.

“You’re kidding.”— Johnnie McLean, deputy director of the state board of elections, responding to the Greensboro News & Record upon learning that a candidate, who now cannot be located, won election to the Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation District board using a false name.

This week on NC Spin…Join moderator Tom Campbell
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. Topics this week: The latest developments on North Carolina’s budget crisis; substance abuse programs needing detox; a strange exit interview by outgoing DOT Secretary Lyndo Tippett; and a new permit to mine wetlands. This week’s panelists: John Hood and Becki Gray of the John Locke Foundation;Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; and former Attorney General and Secretary of State Rufus Edmisten.